Glans penis

In uncircumcised males, it is usually covered by the foreskin, except during sex or masturbation, when the foreskin, which is attached only at the pubic wall and behind the glans penis, is often pushed back to reveal the glans.

The glans is significantly less sensitive in circumcised men, for whom the glans is constantly exposed. As a result, the skin of the glans is desensitised, and is more like ordinary skin than that of an uncircumcised penis. Opponents of circumcision cite this as a principal reason for rejecting the practice of circumcision.

Anatomical details

The glans penis is the expanded cap of the corpus spongiosum. It is moulded on the rounded ends of the corpora cavernosa penis, extending farther on their upper than on their lower surfaces. At the summit of the glans is the slit-like vertical external urethral orifice. The circumference of the base of the glans forms a rounded projecting border, the corona glandis, overhanging a deep retroglandular sulcus, behind which is the neck of the penis.